Zaric
by 0SilverHawk0
Summary: Story about a young Force-Sensitive who goes to the Jedi Academy, and begins to overcome his weak personality.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1: Lessons_

The scope was centered. The target was set. Every inch of his body was controlled, or rather, as controlled as an eleven-year-old could manage under supervision. "Deep breaths, in and out. You have to control every aspect of yourself, hold it steady." That was his father, Tyris Vakarian, watching over his latest lesson. Zaric had often been taught by his father, but now, for the first time he held a rifle in his own hands.

"I…I don't…" He was too young and too shy to really express why he thought this way, but these animals weren't aggressive, they were quite peaceful. And the thought of killing and shooting one of them with the laser rifle in his hands, it was too much for him to think of. He hadn't really considered the consequences until now. Father was right there, looking over him, and demanding results.

His life was one spent innocently on a rather small planet. His fathers tutelage, and his mother's love, was all he really knew. Speaking strictly, he was a rather shy boy. He didn't have any close friends, and he preferred to spend his time with books. 

"You need to learn, Zaric. It is the mark of a man to be able to feed himself and his family, and to protect them. You need to know what it is like." Zaric tried to wrap his head around it. Yes, he had eaten the meat of these creatures before, but you could gather food from the fruits and vegetables of this place. It was a veritable paradise, they didn't need to kill like this! Mostly though, his thoughts lay in fear of killing another living thing. Tyris' inscrutable face seemed to broach no resistance. 

"Do it." It was that harsh voice of Tyris', when he demanded results, and refused to not get them. Zaric hadn't heard it many times. Usually he gave in to his father's demands. He had even gone as far as placing the sights on the Balicus, but couldn't go all the way. "I killed my first game at your age, you will too." He had frozen up. "I…can't…" He looked up from the scope, pleading eyes looking straight up into their opposites, the cold steel of Tyris' grey eyes. "You looked away, you might be dead now." Tyris pulled out a pistol from a holster at his belt. The rifle was just to make this easier for Zaric, Tyris could make the shot at this range. 

"They're animals, they don't know about the world like we do." He aimed, and fired. Once, twice, the mark of a good hunter, just as Zaric had been told. "They're meat for us." No matter how much Zaric heard it, he didn't want to believe it. "Come on, there isn't much light left, it took us long enough to find these things. You'll be carrying your share." If there was disappointment in his eyes, he hid it well. Zaric couldn't comprehend it, they didn't need to do this. 

It took a couple hours to clean the kill and get back. The disgusting smell seemed omnipresent for the entire time he was walking, a bloody bag on his back. There were more efficient ways to carry this, but Tyris believed in an older way of building character. As soon as Zaric had deposited the bag into the storage shed outside of their house, he rushed inside, searching and searching for the one person he knew would make him feel better. 

But, he couldn't find her. He couldn't find Mother. He searched every nook and cranny of the house, but he just couldn't find her. Finally, hesitantly, he went to his fathers side, and tugged on his shirt. He seemed strangely bothered as well, his head slumped over this desk. "Father, where's Mom?"

Apparently, this, of all things, struck a chord with his father, whom immediately had the first unabashed look of sadness he had ever seen. "Khaylia…" He opened his mouth to say more, but the mention of Mother's name, and that look, made him realize, that something had happened.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: Deadening_

He never did find her. Tyris didn't say much, but after being bugged for almost an hour, he revealed the bitter truth. "She's dead, Zaric. You know what that means." He did. Farmwork was something his father had done for all of Zaric's lifetime, and part of that was slaughtering animals. That such a thing could happen to his mother was unthinkable, nonetheless.

Nothing really occurred to him, after that. There was just a hole in his heart that his mother had once filled. Four years passed, going by at a blur. He didn't even make note of the strange education he seemed to receive. While learning how to fire a rifle, or raise an animal was quite important, there were other things that seemed even stranger. You never would need to quote history, or learn computer skills on a farm. Still, he didn't question it at all. He became withdrawn, abandoning the few almost-friends he'd made in the city on their trips, and meekly accepting whatever task his father gave him.

It was, without a doubt, an unhappy childhood from then on. Puberty hit, but these changes were accepted with the same meekness. His father broached no rebellion, no matter how Zaric might have tried. When one was dependent, there wasn't much that could be done to offer resistance.

His life continued like this until a fateful meeting came upon him. He remained the boy he always was, or rather, became even more withdrawn without the influence of Khaylia. His father was always the same. Until that was, sometime after his 15th birthday.

"Tyris, you knew him better than anyone. You're sure you don't know where he might be?" Zaric had wandered in after his latest lesson. The book had been an alternative view on the results of the Rebellion. He didn't really understand it, or more accurately didn't care. This was something strange though. There was a woman in robes in his father's study. Her brownish-gold hair was long, and she had a kind face. He didn't like how much she looked like mother.

"Ah, Amariss, I don't believe you've met my son. Cmon, don't be shy Zaric, say hello." Zaric wasn't a used to strange person being in his house. Tyris was a very private person, and Zaric's lessons were often uninterrupted. "H-hello…" He was even less used to greeting them. It was apparently a significant source of stress to his father that he was so shy and withdrawn. His father believed kids should be open and friendly while they still could, whatever that meant.

The lady bent down and patted him on the head. He was short for his age, but he was apathetic towards that. It just meant that, usually at least, people didn't notice him. "Hello, Zaric." She had this idiotic smile on her face. Was she being funny or something? "I'm sorry, he's been like that ever since…" His father trailed off. Zaric knew exactly what he meant. He had never been told the details, as much as Zaric had demanded to know. Tyris still refused, even when Zaric had given him time. Eventually there was not even a response, such as a 'No.' "Don't worry, we'll find them." Zaric's thoughts immediately froze, as he tried in vain to comprehend what had been said. "T-them?" 

The woman turned a little. "Did you say something dear?" Why was she trying to act like Mother? Before he could open his mouth for a stuttered rebuke however, Tyris cut him off. "He's probably just bored listening to us speak about this. Zaric, feel free to go and play or something." Like a fifteen-year-old 'played'. In the end he just went and sulked in his room like he usually did. For a teenager going through what should be his rebellious stage, he was actually quite docile about it. Tyris came down quick on any misbehavior. 

He still couldn't think of that man as a father. While mother had been around, Tyris had been a distant figure, but always a source of strength and compassion, it seemed. Zaric had been close to idolizing him, until Khaylia had died, and Tyris had turned ice-cold. That was all due to come to an end though.

"Zaric, Amariss, the woman from yesterday, she's got some tests for you." Zaric nodded dumbly, not comprehending just how much his life was going to change. Blood-tests, quizzes that seemed arcane by any standard, these tests seemed to just be a source of stress for him, that was, until she finally told him the result.

"You're force-sensitive, Zaric." Her carefree smile told him that was a good thing.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3: Late Realization_

He was going to become a Jedi. 

It had been only a few days since Amariss had arrived with these tests, but the results were overwhelmingly a yes. Apparently there was an academy for them, something he had never heard about. A place where many youths just like him went to train to become guardians of justice and peace. It appealed to every sense of adventure he had, in a way he hadn't experienced in a long time.

"Tyris, are you…even going to say goodbye to him?" Zaric heard it by chance, as he restlessly wandered through the hallways of the house, too excited to sleep. "No. He must live his life from now on. I was never good at this parenting thing. Khay was always the caring one. Better if I stay out of his hair. He'll develop better in your Academy, I'm sure." The door was slightly ajar, showing his father laying in bed, with a book in his hands. The man was always an intellectual, perhaps sometimes to his detriment.

His back quietly hit the wall, and his thoughts were in a jumble as he slowly slid to a sitting position. His father was…sorry? That seemed to be the only explanation that he could find for these words he had heard his Father say. He didn't fully understand why it hurt him so much. Zaric had…hated his father for years just to see this result?

"Zaric…" Amariss had seen him as she exited Father's room. Zaric didn't even respond, simply looking forward, his unspoken thoughts filling the air, or at least that's how it seemed in his head. This woman could see right through him.

"You're some kind of mind-reading monk, right? Just read my thoughts and get it over with." This one sentence was more than he had said to Amariss the entire time during the testing period. Many times, Tyris had to fill in where Zaric's curt explanations fell short.

"Haha, no, we don't read people's minds unless we really, really need to. Now, what's eatin' ya'?" She seemed so…carefree, like she had never felt any suffering. Perhaps from some outside perspective, it might be seen that Zaric was being quite selfish. He lived a comfortable life, and many people had lost far more than their mothers, but he felt pain nonetheless.

'You won't understand." They were three simple words to drive her away. Yet…they didn't. She still sat there, looking straight into his eyes. She didn't say anything, just smiled. "I don't have to. Noone understands each others pain, even if they say they do. All we have to do is be there for each other."

For some reason, that made Zaric cry the rest of the night. He was put to bed quietly, and only fell asleep as the rays of the morning sun already shined. Hopefully, Amariss was as forgiving a person as she seemed, because it seemed he was going to sleep in heavily.


End file.
